Saving Our SkiesBEIJING Below: The Chinese capital is home to 21.2 million
people. The image from ISS shows that it’s laid out in an effi cient grid
system. Like most cities, the orange glow comes from high-pressure
sodium lighting, one of the worst sources of light pollution. Beijing is
also peppered with bright, unshielded light sources of various colors
atop its many high-rise buildings. The bright area at right is the Beijing
Capital International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world.
Right: This wide-fi eld image shows Beijing (upper left) along with two
other large cities: Tianjin (population 14 million) at the lower right and
Lanfang (4 million) between them.30 July 2014 sky & telescope